Politics

The president’s approval rating is at an all-time low, Republican in-fighting, nervous Democrats running away from Obamacare, and both parties gearing up for 2014. Ken Rudin joins us for a look at the trials and tribulations taking place inside and outside the Beltway. If you like your Political Junkie, you can hear your Political Junkie. Period.

Regular Morning Edition and All Things Considered listeners are familiar with the reporting of NPR National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson, who provides extensive coverage on the people and policies that shape our nation. In Cincinnati recently, Mara Liasson talked with WVXU’s Howard Wilkinson about covering politics in Washington, DC and beyond the Beltway. Ms. Liasson is speaking at the Montgomery Women’s Club Town Hall Lecture Series this evening.

Political Junkie Ken Rudin is back with us again, post-government shutdown, pre-whatever the next big crisis will be. Immigration, Obamacare round two, budget negotiations, the holiday version, or something not yet on the radar. Tune in, share your thoughts, and see if you can answer Ken’s trivia question this month. And Ken is now online, visit his website or podcast.

Yes, there is a mob of 21 candidates scrambling to win one of nine seats on city council. And, yes, there are plenty of controversial issues, from the streetcar to the parking lease to the city’s woeful pension system, for the candidates to argue about.

And yet, the truth is, there are clear indications that Nov. 5 will see the lowest turnout election in Cincinnati in many a decade. Maybe ever.

And what is the particular tea leaf we can read that would lead us to this conclusion?

In 1924 local corruption was so bad that Cincinnati earned the reputation as the worst-governed city in America. In June of that year, a new reform-minded group called the City Charter Committee was founded. Today that group is known as the Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati. Mary Fitzpatrick, former board member, and Executive Committee Chairman Michael Goldman discuss the history and mission of the Charter Committee.

Political Junkie Ken Rudin is back with us again to share his insights on Syria, a possible government shutdown over Obamacare, the debt ceiling, the arguing factions within the Republican Party, and other key issues being debated in the nation’s capital.

Tuesday’s primary election left just two candidates in the race to be Cincinnati’s next mayor. We discuss each candidate’s campaigns and their chance of success in the November general election with Xavier University Assistant Director for Philosophy, Politics, and the Public Honors, Dr. Gene Beaupre, and XU Associate Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Dr. Mack D. Mariani. We also take a look at how the race for city council is shaping up.

Republican Brad Wenstrup was elected in 2012 to represent the people of Ohio’s Second Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. Mr. Wenstrup is a medical doctor, Army Reserve officer, Iraq War veteran, and small business owner. He joins us to discuss the issues facing the nation and the district he represents.